What do you mean by alpha diversity, Biology

Assignment Help:

Q. What do you mean by Alpha diversity?

Alpha (a) richness refers to the number of species found in small, homogenous area. Alpha diversity refers to the diversity in a particular area or ecosystem and is usually expressed by the number of species (i.e. species richness) in that ecosystem.

Alpha diversity is characterised by several widespread patterns that are characteristic of most taxa and are strongly correlated with physical environmental gradients. For example,

· Marine and terrestrial environments in tropical regions have more species of higher taxonomic groups than those in higher latitude communities.

· Richness of species in terms of most taxa is positively correlated with habitat structural complexity.

· Structurally simple habitats like open oceans, grasslands, etc. generally support fewer species than structurally complex communities such as forests and coral reefs. In the open oceans maximum richness of most groups is found at depths between 2000-4000 m. In contrast coral species richness peaks at depths between 15-30 m because corals obtain their energy from photosynthetic organisms embedded in their tissues, and are thus confined to the photic zone.

· Island communities are poor in species than comparable mainland communities.


Related Discussions:- What do you mean by alpha diversity

Animal biotechnology, Animal Biotechnology: Animal cell cultures have b...

Animal Biotechnology: Animal cell cultures have been and are being generate important products based on their genetic information or due to genes transferred into them (transge

Define major structures of chloroplasts, Q. What are the major structures o...

Q. What are the major structures of chloroplasts? Chloroplasts are involved by two membrane layers the inner and the outer membranes. Inside the organelle the formative unit is

What is a phenotype, What is a phenotype? A phenotype is each observabl...

What is a phenotype? A phenotype is each observable characteristic of a living being conditioned by its genes. Some phenotypes may be changed by nongenetic factors (for instanc

Kangroo rat, Kangroo Rat Kangroo rat Dipodornys merriami, a native of ...

Kangroo Rat Kangroo rat Dipodornys merriami, a native of South-West America is a classical example of how small mammals survive in desert. It exhibits all the osmoregulatoryad

What are the major characteristics of the bryophytes, Q. What are the major...

Q. What are the major characteristics of the bryophytes? Bryophytes are nonvascular plants that is they do not have conductive tissues and they perform transport of nutrients a

What are the typical fauna of the temperate forests, What are the typical v...

What are the typical vegetation and the typical fauna of the temperate forests? In the temperate forest deciduous trees predominate. Mammals are originated in great number, as

By which term liverworts and mosses are characterized, Liverworts and mosse...

Liverworts and mosses are characterized by their lack of vascular conducting tissue. These two groups of liverwort, plants and mosses, are known by which of the below terms: a)

Give examples of diseases caused by bacteria, Give three examples of diseas...

Give three examples of diseases caused by bacteria, Diseases caused by bacteria contain tonsillitis, blood poisoning, scarlet fever, tuberculosis, typhoid, diphtheria, food poi

What is the other name given to sex chromosomes, What is the other name giv...

What is the other name given to sex chromosomes? What is the function of sex chromosomes? Sex chromosomes are also known as allosomes (the other chromosomes that are not sex ch

Explain the term- pedon and polypedon, Explain the term- pedon and polypedo...

Explain the term- pedon and polypedon The characteristics of soil do not change vertically downwards only, there are lateral variations also as soil is a three dimensional body.

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd